1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a liquid crystal display panel.
2. Description of the Related Art
There is a conventional liquid crystal panel as shown in FIG. 8. This panel comprises lower and upper substrates 1 and 2 made of a resin such as polyethylene-terephthalate, polyethersulfone, or polyimide. The lower substrate 1 has a surface opposed to the upper substrate 2 and provided with lower electrodes 3 used for display and an orientation film 5, while the upper substrate 2 has a surface opposed to the lower substrate 1 and provided with an upper electrode 4 used for display and an orientation film 6. The electrodes 3 and 4 are made of e.g. ITO (Indium Tin Oxide). The substrates 1 and 2 are attached with each other with a sealing member 7 of an epoxy resin interposed therebetween, thereby forming a liquid crystal-filled space which is filled with liquid crystal 8. A plurality of spacers 9 having a predetermined size and made of a resin or glass are arranged between the substrates 1 and 2 such that the distance therebetween is kept at a constant value so as to make uniform the display characteristics of the liquid crystal 8.
Further, in the above display device, one end of the lower substrate 1 projects laterally from corresponding one end of the upper substrate 2, and a plurality of electrodes made of e.g. ITO and to be connected to external elements are provided only on the upper surface of that projecting portion of the lower substrate 1 which is located outside the liquid crystal-filled space. Specifically, electrodes (not shown) directly connected to the lower electrodes 3 and an upper substrate-connecting electrode 10 are provided on the upper surface of the projecting portion of the lower substrate 1. A connecting electrode 11 made of ITO, etc., directly connected to the upper electrode 4 is provided on the lower surface of that end of the upper substrate 2 which is opposed to the projecting portion and located outside the liquid crystal-filled space. The electrodes 10 and 11 are opposed to each other, and connected to each other by means of a cylindrical cross member 12 made of silver paste, etc., and formed on the upper surface of the electrode 10 by printing.
Since in the above liquid crystal display panel, resin substrates 1 and 2 have flexibility differing from a hard substrate made of glass, etc., they can be easily deflected or deformed when they receive a force from the outside, and hence have the following problems:
When the substrates 1 and 2 are deflected or deformed by a force from the outside, the spacers 9 may be displaced together with the liquid crystal 8 and the distribution of the spacers 9 be varied, since the spacers 9 are roughly interposed between the orientation films 5 and 6 of the substrates 1 and 2. As a result, the distance between the substrates 1 and 2 may be made non-uniform, thereby causing the display characteristics of the liquid crystal 8 to be non-uniform and degrading the quality of display.
Further, since the degree of adhesiveness of the cross member 12 made of silver paste, etc., to the electrodes 10 and 11 made of ITO is low, the upper portion of the member 12, for example, may exfoliate from the electrode 11, causing degraded connection, when the substrates 1 and 2 are deflected or deformed by a force from the outside.